Flexible tube



July 13 1926. 1,592,379 J. MERLE l FLEXIBLE TUBE Filed Sept. 18. 1924INVENTOR Q BY@ ATlOR Y Patented July 13, 1926.

UNITED STATES l 1,592,319 PATENT oFF-lcs.

JOHN MERLE, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD T0 HENRY C.MERLE, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

A FLEXIBLE TUBE.

This invention relates to flexible tubes used as containers for dentalcreams, shaving creams, paints and the like, and particularly to devicesemployed in connection with such tubes and that may form a part thereoffor facilitating the discharge of the contents of the tube, and theobject of the invention is to provide a tube of the class specified withan attachment in the form of a strip of flexible and substantially rigid`material which is bent centrally to form a substantially V-shaped bodyincl-oss section, said body being adapted to be mounted in connectionwith or to form a permanent part of the tube and the side members of thebody being positioned on opposite wide faces of the tube to facilitatethe discharge of the contents thereof; a further object being to soconstruct the tube attachment or parts as to discharge substantially allof the contents of the tube by simply moving the separate side membersof the attachment toward each other by hand, and withl these and other'objects in view the invention consists in a device of the class and forthe purpose specified which is simple in construction, efficient in useand which is constructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, ofwhich thev accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separateparts of my improvement are designated by suitable referencecharactersin each of the views, and in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of atube made according to my invention and indicating the method of itsuse;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the construction shown in Fig. 1 and showingthe tube mounted on the usual container;

Fig. 3 is a partial section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a partial section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. l but showing a modification. l

In the drawing I have shown for the purpose of illustrating one use ofmy invention, a flexible tube 10 such as employed as a container fordental creams and the like` said tube comprising a hollow body 11 offlexible and collapsible material contracted at one end as shown at 12and provided with a circular or disk-shaped head 13 at the other end,and the head .13 is provided with a threaded discharge spout 14 closedby a cap 15 as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawin At 16, I have shown myimproved attac ment fashioned from a strip of sheet metal or suitablesheet material of substantially the same transverse dimensionsthroughout, and said sheet being folded centrally as shown at 17 to forma contracted end portion to the attachment and also to form similar sidejaw members 18.

The attachment 16 in the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive ismounted in connection with the tube 10 with the members 18 of theattachment positioned adjacent thc wide side walls of the tube, and thefolded cn-d portion 17 of the attachment 'passes over the contracted endportion 12 of the tube and is crimped or otherwise fashioned as shown at19 to secure t-he attachment to the tube at the contracted endportion'12 thereof.

' It will be noted that the transverse width of the members 18 of theattachment are substantially the same as the corresponding dimensions ofthe tube, thus permitting of the mounting of the tube with the attach-.ment thereon within the usualboX-shaped container 20 employed for tubesof the class under consideration without in any way altering theconstruction of said containers and in the use of the tube with myattachment thereon by simply compressing the members 18 of theattachment adjacent the contracted end 12 of the tube, the contents ofthe tube may be discharged, or if desired the lingers of a hand may bepassed longitudinally over the members 18 from the contracted endportion of the tube to the head end portion to accomplish the sameresult. It will be apparent that with my improved construction a verysimple and effective means is provided for discharging the contents of atube of the class under consideration and also an attachment that may be'applied at a nominal expense is provided. The attachment also serves toreinforce and strengthen the tube. f

In Fig. 5 of the drawing I have shown a slight modification in which theattachment 1G is mounted in connection with the contracted end portionof the tube before it is turned upon itself as is the usual custom, see12a Fig. 3 of the drawing, and the attachment together with thecontracted end of the tube are folded jointly upon themselves ing theend ot ioned to frictionally pass over the contracted end of the tube toretain the same in connection therewith, and various changes 1n andmodifications of the construction herein shown and described may be.made, within the scope,- ot the appended claims, without departing fromthe spirit of myinvention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, isz- 1. The combination with a flexible tubehaving at one end a head provided with a discharge nipple and the otherend being closed and flattened, of a discharging element consisting otstrip sheet metal arranged longitudinally of and on opposite sides ofsaid tube, and said attachment being secured to the closed flattened endof the tube, and the side members thereof terminating short of the headof the tube, and the transverse dimensions of the attachment beingsubstantially the same as the corresponding dimensions of the tube.

2. A discharge attachment for flexible tubes comprising an elongatedbody of flexible material provided at one end with a head having adischarge and the other end being flattened and sealed, said attachmentcomprising a substantially V-shaped body fashioned from vsheet metal,and the diverging side members of said body being adapted to be mountedon opposite sides of said tube with the ends of said members terminatingshort of the head of the tube, the transverse dimensions of said membersbeing substantially the same as the transverse dimensions of the tube,and the contracted end portion of said attachment engaging the flattenedend of the tube'.

In ,testimony that I claim the foregoing as m invention I have signed myname this 16th day of September,

HN MERLE.

